Transfers?

HAHAHA No!!!! :) :) None of us. At least that's what they said last night. We're still a bit worried that they'll call tonight and change it. Kind of like how they weren't telling people where they were going on Sunday. But hopefully it's true. We certainly were not expecting to stay at all. We didn't know who, but we were sure someone was leaving. But the whole ward was praying, and Joseph and our Branch President talked to our Mission President and requested that we stay. Being here has been a good thing. I'm excited to keep it going. 

 We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving with the American Elders in the zone at the local Pica Pollo- (little Chinese /Dominican chicken/ whatever else food place. [Think Cracker Barrel variety, but Dominican]). So the fried chicken was taken care of, but we needed the works, so we decided to bring our own.

Dad would have been proud of the mashed potatoes and gravy that I whipped up under difficult conditions--especially considering that we had spent the morning catching and killing mice in the kitchen and then bleaching everything. But after finally getting the gravy to an acceptable texture, I realized too late there was no way to season it. I desperately looked in all our cupboards to no avail. At the point of despair, Hna Erickson offered her teriyaki beef jerky to save the day. We blended it up and mixed it in, and it turned out great! We ended up carrying to Pica Pollo mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, juice in our water bottles, and, of course, the gravy. Afterwards, there was not a single pie to be found, so Tres Leche cake had to do. 

Enchiladas on the stove because our oven broke.  That's how we do it here.

Filling Up Gas:

What?! Can you say dangerous!? It's just a tank that sits in their trunk like this and they fill it up with a hose.  Moments like this I remember I'm in a 3rd world country. 

At the Temple to do baptisms. No, as sister missionaries we are not allowed to do baptisms, but we got to go to the temple with Iris and Yolanda. (Antonio and Elvis couldn't go in because they received the priesthood Sunday and we went to the temple on Saturday). 

Yolanda did the work for her great grandma, and her uncle Humberto did it for her great grandpa. It was super exciting. And they had her do at least 25 other names--she got a little tired.

Practicing a Christmas duet, "Still, Still, Still."  Yeah! We are determined to get it down. And now that we have until Christmas to do it, even better!

This week I'm very discouraged about my Spanish. I still am really bad at understanding. And a lady this week had blonde-block and decided she couldn't understand me. It was so humiliating and so frustrating. I just don't know how to get rid of the gringa accent!

I can read Haitian Creole. But not speak it. I don't know how to pronounce it very well. And as Kim (Sarah's aunt who served a mission to Haiti) of all people probably knows, reading Creole is probably the most useless skill, because anything written would be in French. Creole is rarely written. But it's fun.  Everything official or written is in French.  Creole is the language of the streets. Which is super good to have especially when they're not that educated, because it can be easier for them to understand -- at least here.

We made Norskies (Norwegian crepes) this week, and I made Mango syrup to go on them! It brought back a lot of memories. But of course they didn't quite taste like home. Anything with butter in it turns out really weird here-- (because it's margarine stuff made out of corn. It evaporates before it melts. Real butter is "too 'spensive.")

I might be finally getting into the swing of things. From what I've seen, halfway is a good place to be. Far enough in to be normal, but not close enough to the end to think about it.

 I better skedaddle. Hope I don't email you in tears next week to say the transfer calls was all a hoax. :)

Have a great one!

Love, Sarah